Nasher Sculpture Center

In the early 1960s, Anthony Caro gave up figurative sculpture and began constructing the abstract compositions of industrial materials for which he is best known. A welded and bolted compilation of steel parts, Sculpture Three derives its meaning from its relationships of lines, forms, and masses, and their interaction with the surrounding space. Two steel elements, one smooth and one knobby, perch at angles atop a narrow rail supported by two upright I-beams. This balancing act is countered by a tall vertical pole angling into the composition. The disparate parts of the sculpture are further unified by the green paint. By placing Sculpture Three on the ground, Caro allows us to engage it directly, without the mediating presence of a traditional pedestal.